Summer Q&A: Junior LHP Vance Tatum
July 01, 2015 | Baseball
STARKVILLE, Miss. - For the month of July, HailState.com will interview select Mississippi State baseball players competing across the country in summer leagues. Rising junior left-hander Vance Tatum is currently pitching for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks in the presitgious Cape Cod Baseball League. As of June 30, the Olive Branch, Mississippi, native had started three games on the Cape, owning a 1.80 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 15.0 innings.
VANCE "MOONLIGHT" TATUM Q&A
Q: What are some areas the MSU coaching staff wants you to improve upon this summer?
A: They want me to get better out of the stretch and work on being a little more consistent.
Q: How is your experience this summer going to make you a better player for 2016?
A: Since I am in the Cape Cod League, I feel like playing with the best players in the country is going to make me a more confident player.
Q: How does the talent level in your league compare to the SEC?
A: It is similar. The players here are handpicked from the best players in the country, so the talent level is a little higher.
Q: What's it like playing in the Cape Cod League with so many scouts at the games?
A: It is a pretty good feeling, even though we get scouts at Dudy Noble for nearly every game. As somebody who has pitched in Starkville for two years, I am use to it, but at the same time I don't take it for granted.
Q: Do you have a MSU teammate on your summer team? What's that like?
A: Dakota Hudson is on my team and it has been a blast playing with him. I know he has been working on a whole bunch of stuff. I know that we share the same philosophies about things and we both know we can talk to each other.
Q: What are your thoughts on the 2016 incoming class?
A: It is a great class. We have a bunch of talented players coming and I am excited about them joining our brotherhood. It is going to be a highly-ranked class.
Q: What are the team goals for the 2016 season?
A: To make it to Omaha.
Q: What do you miss most about Starkville?
A: Sweet Tea
Q: Do you have a host family? Describe that experience?
A: They are very welcoming and they have opened up their house to me. They have given me everything I could ask for.
Q: What's a typical day like in summer league?
A: It is pretty simple. I wake up, eat, go to the gym and then hit the field for the rest of the day.
Q: What's the coolest thing you've done this summer?
A: I think going to Fenway Park was the coolest thing I have done this summer. We worked out in front of Major League scouts from all 30 teams. It was also great to catch up with five of my MSU teammates in the Cape Cod League who aren't on my summer team.
Q: What's the atmosphere at your summer stadiums compared to Dudy Noble Field?
A: It is a completely different atmosphere. The distance between home plate and the bleachers is much greater in the Cape. Also, there isn't anyone in the outfield grilling, so I don't smell amazing southern food when I take the bump.
Q: What's different in the Northeast compared to Mississippi?
A: It is nowhere near as hot as Starkville would be right now. Also, the Boston-type accent is something I have always seen in movies and on TV, but now I get to experience it in real life.
Q: Who do you think is going to be a breakout player for MSU in 2016?
A: I think Reid Humphreys is going to have the best year of anybody next year
Q: The 2016 MSU SEC Schedule came out – What's it like to play such a challenging schedule?
A: That is what you expect in the SEC. We have four teams on the schedule who played in the College World Series, which is always your goal if you play at State. Week in and week out you are playing the best teams in the country.
